My latest at Hardball Times talks about why I love baseball. As I mentioned the other day, I can’t help myself; this time of the year always gets to me.
I used to fight it, but no more. Like ear hair and the curious compulsion to wear bright shorts with dark socks, Opening Day sappiness is simply a part of the aging process that I’ve learned to accept.
From the article:
In 1978 (May 9 or July 28, don’t remember which; I just know that Gene Tenace homered twice), I witnessed my first baseball game and it was good. The usual father-and-son cliches apply, although I don’t know that it “brought us together” so much as put us physically in the same space at the same time. Still, there is something to be said for that, especially when you are 9 years old and prone to worshiping people you don’t really know.
What struck me about that first game is that it was literally timeless. My father had taken me to football games before, so I knew how those worked, and at some point I asked him what quarter it was. What I meant was, “When is this thing going to end?” (I had the attention span of a 9-year-old, which was more appropriate then than it is now).
Tenace has always been one of my favorite players. There are three reasons for this:
- He’s associated with my first baseball memory.
- His given name is Fiore Gino Tennaci, which just rocks.
- He’s a prototypical stathead beast that produced despite a perpetually low batting average.
To that last point, here are the 10 highest OPS+ in big-league history for guys who hit .250 or lower (min. 5000 PA). These are some good players:
OPS+ BA PA
Gene Tenace 136 .241 5525
Adam Dunn 132 .249 5417
Jim Wynn 128 .250 8010
Mickey Tettleton 121 .241 5745
Darrell Evans 119 .248 10737
Howard Johnson 117 .249 5715
Dwayne Murphy 115 .246 5242
Dave Kingman 115 .236 7429
Gorman Thomas 114 .225 5486
Darrell Porter 113 .247 6570
You know who reminds me of Tenace on this year’s Padres? Nobody.
Don’t worry, be sappy. Read the article.
My uncle played in a competitive fast-pitch softball league in San Diego/Poway in the early 80s and Gene Tenace was in the league. Not sure if they were on the same team, but I remember being impressed that my uncle could play with Tenace.
That is impressive… and very cool.
I wish we had any of those 3 catchers.
Amen on the ear hair. Somewhere around your 38th year nature starts playing practical jokes on you and never lets up. I fully expect to wake up one day with a need to shave the bottom of my feet and my esophagus.
Come on, TW. Aren’t all of those catchers in their 50′s by now?
@Pat
Dammit, you’re right. Fatal flaw.